


The Things We Sing Out Loud (When No One's Listening)

by Branithar



Category: Waterparks (Band)
Genre: Bullying, Catholicism, Child Abuse, Homophobia, Kidnapping, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reform School, Revenge, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:48:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27587693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Branithar/pseuds/Branithar
Summary: A year ago, Awsten's brother disappeared with two of their friends. Although everyone except Geoff and Otto insists that they ran away, he knows something happened to them and he's going to find out what.
Relationships: Awsten Knight/Jawn Rocha, Kyle Fletchers/Travis Riddle
Kudos: 1





	The Things We Sing Out Loud (When No One's Listening)

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Division Symbols by Hands Like Houses.

“ _Fuck!_ ” Awsten threw the washcloth at the filthy table and stared at the blisters on his hands. 

“ _Awsten!_ ” 

Awsten rolled his eyes with a groan. Of course he’d clean alone and in silence all morning just to curse right as a nun walked in. “What?” 

Sister Margaret glared at him. “You _know_ that language like that isn’t acceptable.” 

“ _Sorry._ ” 

She pursed her lips. “When you’re done, you’ll go to the chapel and plead for forgiveness. Patience, too. You’re far too quick to anger.” 

“I have to go to the infirmary first.” 

“No you don’t.”

“My _hands-_ ” 

“Spiritual health comes before physical health,” Sister Margaret reminded him, “You’ll be blessed for your suffering.” 

Awsten glared at her as she headed to the kitchen, leaving him alone in the mess hall. He’d been glad to be assigned the chore of cleaning the tables here at first. Usually, they made him do chores with other people so that God could teach him to be better at working in a team, but he guessed they didn’t feel like dealing with the fight that would almost inevitably break out today. He didn’t feel like dealing with it either. He always got a shitty punishment for it, while whoever started it was coddled and comforted. He had a reputation for being _argumentative_ that just about everyone except Otto and Geoff liked to exploit. 

But, apparently, even working alone wasn’t enough to keep him out of trouble. 

“What’s this?” 

Awsten didn’t look up at Dean and his friends as he approached. 

Dean slammed a fist down on the table Awsten was cleaning. “I said, what’s this?” 

If Awsten made a point of ignoring him, maybe Sister Margaret would come out in time to see Dean starting shit. Maybe _for once_ someone would be on his side. 

“Are you fucking _deaf_ now, fag?” 

When Awsten kept wiping down the table, Dean took the bucket from the table and threw it towards the windows, getting soapy water everywhere as it crashed to the ground. 

“ _Answer me!_ ” 

Cameron, Dean’s right hand bitch, grabbed Awsten’s arm and yanked him away from the table. Xavier gave him a shove that would have had him stumbling if it weren’t for Cameron’s painful grip. 

“ _Awsten!_ ” 

Fucking _finally._ Cameron released Awsten and they all looked at Sister Margaret, standing at the kitchen door. 

“What’s going on here?” she demanded. 

“We came to ask you about Father Jones’ visit this Sunday,” Xavier blurted unconvincingly, “Awsten started cussing us out and grabbed Cam as we passed. He threw the water.” 

“I did _not!_ ” Awsten spat, “You _saw_ Cameron holding my arm.” 

“I think you need to see Father Boyd,” Sister Margaret told him, folding her arms, “Your attitude-”

“ _I didn’t do anything!_ ” 

“ _Out._ ” 

Awsten glared a her for a moment before punching Dean in the balls and leaving. If he was going to get in trouble anyway, he might as well actually do something to deserve it. 

The chapel was cold when Awsten got there. It was always cold, but something about coming in for confessions felt weird, like the Jesus statue at the head of the room was watching him. He headed straight for the confession booth, knocking to make sure nobody was in his seat. Claiming it as his own felt right, given that nobody else was sent here _nearly_ as much as he was. 

“I’m disappointed to see you here, Awsten,” Father Boyd greeted. 

“You don’t even know why I’m here yet,” Awsten huffed. 

“Why are you here?” 

“I was cleaning the tables in the mess hall and Dean and his friends came to push me around,” Awsten told him, “I tried to ignore them and Sister Margaret saw and Xavier told her I started it.” 

Father Boyd sighed. “You know lying’s a sin, Awsten.” 

“I’m _not_ lying. They blame me for everything ‘cause they know you’ll take their side.” 

“Lying in confession is worse than normal lying,” Father Boyd continued, “When you lie in here, you’re lying to God. Not just some old man you think doesn’t understand you.” 

“God would know I’m not lying,” Awsten muttered. 

“I know it’s hard, but you have to let people help you.”

Awsten rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair. 

“You’re not a bad person, even if you feel like you are-”

“I don’t.”

“-And you can make the choice to forgive yourself and let God in. You’ve been _impossible_ since Kyle ran away with Jawn and-” 

“ _They didn’t fucking run away!_ ” Awsten screamed. 

“Awsten-” 

“ _Fuck you,_ ” he spat, standing up, “I _know_ Kyle, he would _never_ leave me in this shithole like that.” He opened the door and stormed out of the chapel, consequences be damned. 

He had to wonder if Father Boyd did it on purpose, if he knew Awsten was right about Kyle and the others but just wanted to push his buttons whenever he didn’t cooperate. Whatever Father Boyd had wanted to make Awsten do for starting a fight, he could now give him a worse punishment for pissing him off in confession. 

Awsten headed for the sheds outside, a popular place to smoke that literally every adult knew about, so he wasn’t really sure why anyone still smoked there. He liked it because there were shrubs to offer privacy from everything and a lot of trees around that shed leaves constantly, so it was easy to hear people coming. Before Jawn disappeared, they’d sometimes come here to make out. 

Awsten found a clear patch of dirt among the bushes and sat against the steel wall of the shed.

Jawn had been seventeen when it happened, a popular age for runaways because they only had to stay under the radar for a few months before turning eighteen and being free for good. Jawn wouldn’t do that though, not without telling Awsten. Even if he did, Travis was too much of a a law-abiding pussy to go with him and Kyle just _wouldn’t_ leave Awsten like that. They’d been through literally everything together. If Kyle ran away, he’d have done it with Awsten. Something had _happened_ to them and Awsten, Geoff and Otto were the only people who cared enough to want to find them. 

And Awsten _would_ find them. Fuck everyone that tried to stop him, he would get his brother and friends back.


End file.
